Functional morphology of the Ediacaran organism Tribrachidium heraldicum

Tribrachidium heraldicum is among the first large and structurally complex animals, appearing in the fossil record 550 million years ago. By using engineering software to simulate fluid flow around digital models of this organism we recreate details of how it lived, including how it fed and the likely functions of its bizarre anatomy., All .java files are generated from COMSOL Multiphysics 6.2. Once simulations were completed, meshes were cleared, and simulations were exported to .java. Relavent Tribrachidium reconstruction files are saved as STEP shape files.  Remaining data are from coupled OpenFOAM and LIGGGTS simulations using the stl shape file. These datasets can be viewed using ParaView. Text editor .docx document hosts supplemental figures from the main text., , # Functional morphology of the Ediacaran organism *Tribrachidium heraldicum*

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dr7sqvb65](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dr7sqvb65)

Supplemental figures and corresponding captions for the main text can be found in Supplemental-figures.docx. 

*Tribrachidium* morphotype reconstructions for the simulations are in STEP file format that can be imported into CAD or CFD software. Files are labeled by anatomical characters of the morphologies in both the COMSOL and morphology files.

* bare_hemisphere.stp - hemispherical model with no ornamentation 
* round_pits.stp - hemispherical null model with rounded apical pits
* elongate_pits.stp - hemispherical null model with elongated \"teardrop\" apical pits
* arms_only.stp - hemispherical model with arms
* arms_and_bullae.stp - hemispherical null model with arms and bullae 
* arms_and_round_pits.stp - hemispherical null model with arms and round apical pits
* arms_and_elongate_pits.stp - hemispherical model with arms and...